Dell launches ultra-thin Adamo XPS

The new Adamo has a novel flip-down keyboard

Dell has officially launched its ultra-slim Adamo XPS laptop in the UK, but has still to confirm prices or an exact availability date for the system, claimed by the company as the world's thinnest laptop.

First revealed in September, the Adamo XPS is said to be just 9.99mm thick, and weighs 1.44kg, making it very thin and light for a system with a 13.4in screen.

Precise details of the XPS had been scarce, but Dell has now disclosed that it is based on Intel's 1.4GHz ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo processor with 4GB of DDR3 memory, and ships with a 128GB Flash drive rather than a standard hard drive to keep its weight down. It will also ship with a 64-bit edition of Windows 7.

The new Adamo features a novel design where the keyboard appears to fold down from the body of the laptop instead of opening up clamshell-fashion like most other models.

Dell said that the keyboard is secured by a capacitive latching device, allowing the user to release the fold-down keyboard with the swipe of a finger. The keyboard itself has aluminium keycaps, and the system also supports gesture input via its touchpad.

Other novel features include built-in location awareness to provide real-time local map information, according to Dell.

The system has 802.11n wireless, twin USB ports and an external display output, but connecting to an Ethernet local area network requires a separate dongle.

The Adamo has a replaceable battery, with an optional high-capacity pack offering up to 5 hours and 17 minutes, according to Dell.

A Dell spokesperson said that the Adamo XPS will be available before Christmas, but declined to specify an exact date. Prices have also yet to be disclosed.